Cooking adventures and recipe archives of a home cook in Southern California. I created this blog mostly to share with friends and family, and it includes many recipes for Chinese grub, especially those staples I grew up with as a kid in Taiwan. But as you'll notice, I'm game for any and all cuisines.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Szechuan Preserved Vegetables with Shredded Pork (Zha Cai Rou Si)

Szechuan Pickled Vegetable ('Zha Cai') is a delicious and versatile ingredient which can be used in everything from stir-frys, to noodle soups, and as a condiment over cold tofu & thousand year old eggs, wontons in chili oil and congee (rice porridge). This "pickle" is essentially the swollen stem of a type of mustard plant that is salted, rubbed in chili spices, pressed and then preserved (traditionally in some type of earthenware jar). Nowadays (boy, I'm starting to sound dated), you can buy these in convenient packages, with some already julienned, in the refrigerated sections of many Asian markets (e.g., 99 Ranch Market). I myself still like to buy the canned variety though - seems to have more depth & intensity in flavor. If adding to a bland ingredient like tofu, you don't really need to rinse or soak the Zha Cai. However, in other dishes you might want to tone down the pungently salty and spicy flavor of this veggie by giving it a quick rinse and soak before using. Zha Cai with shredded pork is great served with steamed white rice. It's also the base for making noodles with Szechuan Pickled Vegetables and Shredded Pork ('Zha Cai Rou Si Mian').